ILLINOIS: EX-GOVERNOR SAYS COMPANY DEFAMED HIM

Steven Greenhouse

April 5, 2003, Saturday

The former Illinois governor James
R. Thompson, who served as special counsel to the embattled union-owned
insurance company Ullico said the company had made false and defamatory statements
about his highly critical report concerning stock trades by many Ullico
directors. Mr. Thompson noted that Ullico said he had found no violations even
though his report found compelling evidence of violations of state fiduciary
law. Mr. Thompson, who was hired to do an independent investigation of the
trading, said Ullico had defamed him and his law firm by saying he was
ill-served by a staff that did not fully explore laws about fiduciary duties.
Ullico denied misrepresenting the report.